Chapter 8: The Girl Before Us
Keifer's POV
The second Jay walked out of the classroom, the noise dropped.
Not because we were scared.
Because we were curious.
Rory slid into the seat in front of me.
Erdix was already on his phone.
"I found her old school," Erdix said.
Felix leaned over immediately. "You work too fast."
"I get bored," Erdix replied calmly.
Cin frowned. "Why are we even doing this?"
Rory grinned. "Because she's not normal."
Yuri crossed his arms. "Facts."
Erdix connected his phone to the screen.
Jay's old school page appeared.
Clean record.
Good grades.
Student council president.
Debate champion.
Inter-school martial arts winner.
Blaster blinked. "She was president?"
Felix looked confused. "That doesn't match the psycho energy."
Scroll.
Erdix stopped.
There it was.
An incident report.
"Suspended for physical altercation."
The class got quiet.
Rory read from the screen.
"Student involved in a fight. Opponent required medical attention."
Emman let out a low whistle.
Cin shook his head slightly. "That's serious."
Erdix kept scrolling.
Another post. Not official. Just gossip from old students.
"She attacked a senior with a pencil during an argument."
"She doesn't tolerate disrespect."
"She's dangerous when angry."
Blaster muttered, "That explains the eyes."
Felix looked at me. "Bro… she beat someone that bad?"
Yuri added quietly, "Apparently the guy was a bully."
Silence.
No one laughed.
No one made jokes.
I leaned back in my chair, staring at the screen.
It didn't shock me.
It explained her.
The way she doesn't react fast.
The way she chooses her words carefully.
The way she looks at you like she's calculating damage.
Rory broke the silence. "So she's violent."
I shook my head.
"No."
They looked at me.
"She's controlled."
Cin frowned. "Controlled?"
"If she was really violent," I said calmly, "half of you would've stopped throwing paper balls yesterday."
No one argued.
Because they knew.
Felix rubbed the back of his neck. "So what now?"
I stood up slowly.
"What now?" I repeated.
I looked around Section E.
The loudest section.
The worst reputation.
The boys no one tries to fix.
Then I glanced at the door she walked out of.
"She fits."
"Fits what?" Erdix asked.
I smirked slightly.
"Section E."
Yuri grinned. "You like that she's dangerous."
I grabbed my bag.
"I like that she's not pretending."
As I walked out, one thing was clear.
Jay wasn't surviving here.
She was choosing to behave.
And that?
That's way more interesting.
Because if those rumors were even half true…
Then she wasn't fighting us.
She was holding back.
And I wanted to know why.